Montco DA Ferman to run for county judge

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced Tuesday that she will not seek a third term and instead run for a seat on the Common Pleas Court bench.

Ferman said her decision to leave the prosecutor's office had been "an evolution over some time."

"After eight years constantly being in the eye of the storm, it wouldn't be such a terrible thing to slow down for a little bit," she said. "But I think it will present a different set of challenges. I'm looking forward to the intellectual aspects of the bench, analyzing and make decisions."

Soon after her announcement, First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele threw his hat in the ring to replace her.

Ferman, a 49-year-old Republican, was the county's first female district attorney. If elected, Steele, 47, would be its first Democratic district attorney in the county

"It is clear to me that the people of Montgomery County want someone with experience, vision, and innovative skills to lead the office forward," Steele said in a statement.

Steele has spearheaded some of the county's biggest cases in recent years, including the conviction last fall of an Indian immigrant who brutally murdered a grandmother and baby in a ransom attempt gone wrong.

Montgomery County Republicans said Steele would not run unopposed, but would not say if they have selected a candidate yet.

Ferman said judicial conduct rules prohibit her from backing any candidates. But she said Steele "has been an absolutely terrific first assistant and a great friend."

Ferman, who was first deputy under former DA Bruce Castor before being elected to succeed him in 2007, worked on numerous high-profile cases of her own, including misconduct by a former county commissioner and the conviction of a former University of Pennsylvania professor who murdered his wife in Upper Merion.

The lifelong Abington resident has been a forceful advocate for children and women, co-founding the nonprofit Mission Kids, and writing a children's book on Internet safety.

In Republican circles, her name had been floated as a possible candidate for statewide office. She is the vice president of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association and in 2012 was honored with a national women's leadership award.

In the last year, however, she admitted some missteps. In May, her office agreed to pay $1.65 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it pressed a baseless criminal case against a contractor to benefit a church at which several Montgomery County officials had personal connections.

A month later, she dropped a high-profile sex assault case against former county GOP Chairman Robert Kerns after acknowledging that her staff had misread a lab report. Kerns was charged with raping a female employee of his law firm, and prosecutors mistakenly said that he had also slipped her the sleep drug Ambien.

The attorney general's office picked up the case, and in November, Kerns pleaded no contest to indecent assault.

After those mistakes, Ferman hired a national research center to review how her office handled the case. In October, she apologized for the errors and created two positions aimed at improving professional standards and integrity in her office's investigations.

The judicial post would bring a $1,000-a-year salary increase for Ferman, to $173,791. Compensation for both positions is set under state law.